Updates on Ontario’s Climate Change Plan

The Ontario government is continuing to solidify details to its Climate Change Action Plan, with the following developments:

Using proceeds from the cap and trade program, Ontario will invest up to $900M over four years in energy retrofits for social housing and private residential apartment buildings. The investment would provide funding to social housing for energy efficiency improvements, including thermal insulation improvements. Politicians are currently debating the fine details, including how to design the program so that the tenants receive a break, not only the landlords.

Energy efficiency audits for all homes put on the market will be mandatory, so all properties will have an energy rating and suggestions for how to improve the rating, including improving levels of insulation. In an article published on TVO, NAIMA Canada’s Executive Director, Jay Nordenstrom, points out that such audits have not been hurtful to home sales in other markets, such as Chicago, Austin, and Canberra. Rather, it has an impact on renovation spending, so instead of renovating the kitchen, homeowners put “energy efficiency improvements at the top of the list”.